Interrupted downloads
Video download left a .part file? Check before renaming or deleting it
Work out whether a .part file belongs to an active or interrupted video download, what a resume attempt can do, and how to check the final output.
A .part file left after a video download may contain unfinished data. First check the task that created it; changing the filename to .mp4 does not fetch the missing content. Keep the file and any related task information while you decide whether to resume, retry or investigate a completed output.
This guide concerns interrupted downloads of existing videos you are allowed to save. It is not a method for recovering a live broadcast that is no longer available, or a promise that every partial file can be repaired.
What does .part mean?
The meaning depends on the program that wrote the file. For example, yt-dlp's documented filesystem options use .part files by default while downloading and enable continuation of partial files or fragments by default. Those are yt-dlp settings, not proof of how every desktop downloader behaves.
A suffix alone cannot tell you how much usable video is present, whether audio was downloaded, or whether processing finished. An interrupted task and an old temporary file left beside a completed video can look similar in a folder. Match the filename and location to the task before doing anything with it.
Check the task before touching its files
Open the downloader's task list and find the relevant entry. Note its source URL, destination, status and latest error. Use the application's own controls rather than moving or renaming files while it may still be writing them.
| What you see | Useful next check |
|---|---|
| The task is still running | Check whether progress or processing status is changing; leave its working files in place |
| The task is paused or failed | Record the error and look for the app's supported resume or retry action |
| The task says complete and a final video exists | Verify that output before deciding the temporary file is redundant |
| There is no matching task | Preserve the files and identify the program and original source before starting over |
A frozen percentage is not enough to diagnose the cause. Check the last message as well as the number: downloading and preparing the final output can be different stages.
Try resuming without creating competing tasks
Where the program offers a resume action, use the existing task first. Avoid starting several attempts that write to the same destination. Check that the source still opens under your legitimate access and that the destination drive has space; a retry does not itself fix either condition.
If you use yt-dlp directly, consult its continuation and overwrite options before changing a command. A desktop app may expose different controls. Do not assume an option from a command-line tutorial can be entered into WarpFetch.
After one supported attempt, inspect the result. Did progress continue, restart, or fail with the same message? Record what actually happened. If it fails again, preserve that evidence and investigate the reported cause before repeatedly retrying.
Why renaming is not a reliable repair
Removing .part changes the name; it does not supply bytes that were never downloaded. Some partial media may be readable by a player, but opening it successfully does not prove that the full duration or audio is present. Do any recovery experiment on a copy after the originating task has stopped, not on its only working file.
For example, if an interrupted download produces a file that plays the first three minutes of a ten-minute source, being able to play it is not the same as recovering the remaining seven minutes. This is an illustrative scenario, not a file we tested.
Verify the final video before cleaning up
Compare the intended source duration with the output, check for sound, and seek near the beginning, middle and end. These are useful spot checks rather than a full integrity test. For an important recording, review the whole file before relying on it.
Only consider removing a leftover temporary file once the related task has finished and you have verified a separate final copy. If you cannot establish what the file belongs to, leave it in place until you can. If the final MP4 itself will not play, use the playback checklist to investigate that next stage.
WarpFetch's documented product check did not test interrupted-download recovery or importing partial files. If your WarpFetch task leaves an unexplained temporary file, contact support with the app version, source type, filename, task status and error. Do not expect it to repair an arbitrary .part file created by another program.